Authorities have taken four suspects into custody following the tragedy early Sunday at the Kiss discotheque in the southern college town of Santa Maria, described as the second worst inferno in the country's history.

23:35Koda aide brought back to India, held: Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu Koda was tonight brought back here from Indonesia by Indian agencies after the fugitive businessman was detained there following an Interpol notice against him for alleged money laundering charges.

A two-member team of Enforcement Directorate accompanied Anil Bastawde and he was taken into custody when he landed at the airport here.

Sources said he would be sent to Jharkhand's capital Ranchi tomorrow for production in a special Prevention of Money laundering Act court.

23:10Madras HC lifts ban on 'Vishwaroopam': In a major relief to actor Kamal Haasan, the Madras High Court tonight lifted the ban imposed on his movie 'Vishwaroopam' by the Tamil Nadu government after it courted controversy over its alleged anti-Muslim content.

After a day-long hearing, Justice K Venkataraman passed the orders, paving the way for the screening of the movie reportedly made with a budget of nearly Rs 100 crore amid indications that the state government may prefer an appeal.

The court also kept in abeyance prohibitory orders imposed by the District Collectors across the state under section 144 of the CrPC. The tech-savvy actor was not available for comment.

During the hearing, Tamil Nadu government questioned the 'UA' certificate issued for the film and alleged that the certification of films itself was a "very big scam" and sought a probe into it by a law enforcing agency.

22:58Have no safety issues in India: Shah Rukh: As India and Pakistan spar over the issue of security for Shah Rukh Khan, the Bollywood superstar today said it was sad that an article written by him took an 'unwarranted twist' and he was forced to reiterate his patriotism.

The actor seemed emotional as he read out a lengthy statement and chunks from his article, which he wrote for a weekly English magazine, to address the controversy at an event here, saying, "I do not even understand the basis of this controversy."

The furore started after Pakistan's Interior Minister Rahman Malik said that India should take care of Khan's security, drawing sharp reaction from India with the government as well as the political class saying should be more worried over security of its citizens.

22:14I DO NOT feel unsafe in India: Shah Rukh:Abhishek Mande reports: While addressing a press conference on Tuesday evening in Mumbai, actor Shah Rukh Khan made it clear that he did not feel unsafe in India.

Talking about his controversial article in a news magazine, he said, "Perhaps I should only talk about movies and nothing beyond".

"Perhaps, I don't have the right kind of media atmosphere to comment on (larger issues)," he said.

"We are not walking away. This (bringing to justice the perpetrators of 26/11) is one of our very high priorities," said Clinton.

21:30Don't mind staying inside stadium: Pak women's cricket team: Pakistan women cricketers are not complaining over being provided accommodations inside the Barabati Stadium for the ICC World Cup though the world body and the BCCI have received flak from former Pakistan players over the issue.

"I think all our matches will be played at the same ground (Barabati)," Pakistan women's team captain Sana Mir told reporters after her side defeated Odisha XI by 95 runs in the practice match.

"No Essar Oil official was held hostage by villagers as reported by a section of the media. It was simply a pending case regarding non-payment of compensation to four families which the Essar Oil authority has to resolve through negotiations with the villagers," Chatterjee claimed.

21:26Congress Core Group discusses Cauvery issue: With the issue of sharing Cauvery water gaining urgency, the Congress top brass, including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and party chief Sonia Gandhi, on Tuesday evening deliberated on the way ahead.

The discussions took place in the backdrop of the Centre's plans to take a decision on notifying the final award of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal.

Karnataka and Tamil Nadu are at loggerheads over the issue. The hearing in the Supreme Court today saw the states failing to sort out their differences on water sharing.

The UPA may again have a run-in with the Opposition if it tries to push through the Lokpal Bill in the Rajya Sabha during the Budget Session.

The BJP-led Opposition is unlikely to accept the Rajya Sabha Select Committee's unanimous recommendation to select the chief of the Central Bureau of Investigation by a collegium comprising the prime minister, the opposition leader in Lok Sabha and the Chief Justice of India.

BJP is apprehensive about the inclusion of the Chief Justice in the collegium in the backdrop of Supreme Court judgments on Lokayuktas of Gujarat and Karnataka.

21:04Celebrities are a soft target: Priyanka on SRK row: Even as controversy raged over Pakistan Interior Minister Rehman Malik asking India to provide security to superstar Shah Rukh Khan in the wake of his reported remarks, actress Priyanka Chopra feels that celebrities are becoming a 'soft target'.

"I believe people often use celebrities to advance their propagandas. Celebrities have become a soft target nowadays," Priyanka told reporters at an event.

"The media should not get trapped in such situations and aim at telling the truth", she said

21:02Will present a responsible budget: Chidambaram: Finance Minister P Chidambaram today held out an assurance that the Budget, which he will present in February, will be a 'responsible' one as general elections are 15 months away.

Addressing global investors, he told them that the government will implement many of the decisions and changes in the run-up to the polls.

21:00Sena activists held for trying to stop Delhi-Lahore bus : The police today foiled an attempt by activists of Shiv Sena to stop the Delhi-Lahore bus in Amritsar, in protest against the brutal killing of two Indian soldiers along the LoC, with the timely arrest of a few protesters.

Based on specific information, the activists, who were intending to stop the bus, were arrested much before the vehicle's arrival on the National Highway near Amritsar, said the police.

Star batsman Virat Kohli feels that one quality that he wishes to imbibe from his skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni is the art of "staying calm" in pressure situations.

"One thing I like about him (Dhoni) is his calmness. I wish I could have some of it. He is someone who doesn't disclose too much which would let opposition know about what's going on in his mind. Wish I could get some of it," Kohli said. Growing up in the era of Sachin Tendulkar, Kohli found it difficult to imagine an Indian team without the senior batsman.

"For 23 years, he has taught us how to perform with so many people expecting you to score a century everyday. It is unbelievable. Growing up, I could never imagine a team without Tendulkar but someday, one needs to take that (retirement) decision," the 23-year-old batsman told NDTV.

Twelve persons were killed and four others were injured today when the jeep they were travelling in skidded off the road and fell into a gorge near Sankri in Uttarakhand's Uttarkashi district.

The vehicle slipped off the Mori-Jakholi road, which had become slippery after snowfall and fell into a deep gorge killing six persons on the spot, Purola sub-divisional magistrate Rajkumar Pandey said.

Among the injured admitted at a nearby hospital, six of them succumbed to their injuries, Pandey said. The remaining injured are still undergoing treatment at the hospital, he said.

Questioning the 'UA' certificate issued to Kamal Haasan's controversial film Vishwaroopam,Tamil Nadu government today alleged in the Madras high court that certification of films itself was a "very big scam" and sought a probe into it by a law enforcing agency.

Arguing before Justice K Venkataraman, Advocate General A Navaneethakrishnan said the "UA" certificate to Vishwaroopam was not issued by the Censor Board, but only by an Examining Committee not mandated by provisions of the Constitution.

Rejecting the charge, Additional Solicitor General Wilson said the certification was done by procedure. The application for certification came to the Censor Board on Oct 4, 2012, the film was viewed on Oct 8 and a show cause notice to cut certain scenes sent on October 10, he said. The cuts were accepted and removed and the final certification given on October 17. Scenes to a running time of 1.08 minutes were cut, he said.

The tossing of names of party leaders as BJP prime ministerial candidate for the next Lok Sabha polls were individual opinions and the nominee would be decided by BJP parliamentary board, senior party leader Syed Shahnawaz Hussain today said.

Asked for his comment on ties with NDA ally JD(U), which is against Narendra Modi's candidacy for prime ministership, Hussain told reporters "The relation (with JD(U)) is unbreakable and will remain intact."

Taking a critical view of the Centre's "dilly-dallying tactics" on formation of Telangana, BJP today said the government should stop playing with the sentiments of the local people and immediately form the separate state. "BJP condemns UPA government's dilly-dallying tactics on the issue of formation of a separate state of Telangana.

Government has gone back on its latest promise to take a final decision on the formation of Telangana by January 28, 2013," BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar said.

He maintained that the promise made by Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde in December after an all-party meeting on the issue has not been kept by the government. "This is yet another betrayal of the people of Telangana, which is unacceptable... The Centre is playing with the sentiments of the people," he said.

19:11'Attempt to bribe CAG officer who made 2G report':CNN-IBN reports: Ex-CAG official RP Singh tells Joint Parliamentary Committee an officer, who prepared 2G report, was offered foreign posting. The offer was made when the 2G report was in progress.

19:01Budget will be responsible, says Chidambaram: The Annual Budget, scheduled to be unveiled next month, will be a responsible one, says Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram. The government will implement decisions and changes in the run-up to the general elections next year, Chidambaram added.

Resuming the construction of new nuclear plants in a big way after Fukushima disaster in Japan, China is on course to complete its first ever third-generation atomic power station.

The technology at the core of the plant is known is AP1000. The "third generation" energy project in Sanmen in east China's Zhejiang province is the largest ever joint China-US energy project, state-run CCTV reported. The construction is nearing completion as a 800 tonne steel structure is being put on top of the reactor chamber of the nuclear power unit.

It marks the completion of the main structure housing the reactor itself. The plant officials said that all the safety issues arising out of the Fukushmia disaster have been addressed.

Ting Qian, Sanmen AP1000 Deputy Manager of Westinghouse Industrial Products, said, "The risk is 100 times lower. It can work without power, the gravity and natural circulation will keep the vessel in water condition."

A minor girl was allegedly gang-raped and pushed into a well by two youth in Rajasthan's Dausa district, police said today. The duo, who were in an inebriated state, barged into the house of the 16-year-old victim last night and raped her, SHO, Nangal Rajawatan police station, Laxmikant Sharma said.

Later, when the victim raised an alarm, the accused threw her into a well near the house. After she was rescued from the well, the victim was rushed to a nearby hospital where doctors referred her to Sawai Man Singh government hospital here for further treatment, Sharma said.

The accused, identified as Udai Meena and Anand Rajput, both aged around 25 years, have been detained and the matter is being probed, the SHO added.

Ruling Congress MLA Mateen Ahmed and his associate were today sentenced to three years in jail by a Delhi court for rioting and obstructing government officials in their duty when they were closing down polluting industries in 2001 on Supreme Court orders.

Metropolitan Magistrate Dharmender Rana held the MLA from Seelampur and ex-councillor Jameer Ahmed guilty of charges of roiting, assaulting and causing hurt to deter public servants from discharge of their duty, saying they are "insouciant" members of the legislative assembly and municipal corporation.

The court also imposed a fine of Rs 30,000 on each of the two 55-year-old convicts whose sentences were suspended for a month to enable them to file an appeal against the judgement. They were granted bail on a personal bond of Rs 20,000 each with one surety till then.

AFP: Saudi Arabia beheaded one of its nationals today after he was convicted of drug trafficking, the interior ministry announced in a statement. Musaed al-Ruweili was arrested as he tried to smuggle "a large number of narcotic pills into the kingdom," said the statement, cited by the official SPA news agency.

He was beheaded by the sword in the northern Al-Jawf province. The execution brings to seven the number of people beheaded in Saudi Arabia so far this year.

The ceremony marks the culmination of the four-day-long Republic Day celebrations.

Fourteen Military Bands, Six Pipes and Drums Bands from regimental centres and eleven Pipes and Drums Bands from batallions, Buglers and Trumpeters from various Army Regiments are performing during the ceremony.

On First Post: By every verifiable metric, it is fair to say that Shah Rukh Khan has enjoyed more success and earned more fame and fortune and fan-love -- than he arguably deserves. Which is why it is difficult to account for the victimhood chip rooted in his identity as a Muslim -- that he bears on his shoulders.

India may not be a paradise -- not by a long shot -- but, as writer Patrick French observed at the Jaipur Literature Festival, you only have to look around Indias neighbourhood -- including the 'neighbouring country' you couldnt even name in your interview -- and ask yourself where else you would rather live.

The Enforcement Directorate has begun scrutinising a set of voluminous documents recently sent to it by American retail giant Walmart as part of its reply on a probe against the company's investment in an Indian firm for alleged violations of forex laws.

The company has recently sent a detailed reply to the agency as part of communication to notices sent to it earlier under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), official sources said.

"Walmart is cooperating with the government during this process. The central government has sought certain information and clarification which has been provided by us. We are in compliance with Indias FDI laws, and all procedures and processes have been duly followed and details filed with relevant Indian government authorities, including the Reserve Bank of India," a Walmart India spokesperson said.

The BSE benchmark Sensex on Tuesday dipped below 20,000 level by losing 112 points on profit selling by investors triggered by lower economic growth projections by RBI even as it cut lending rates by 0.25 per cent.

The Sensex ended lower by 112.45 points, or 0.56 per cent, to 19,990.90.

The gauge touched the day's high of 20,203.66 following interest rate cut announcement, but touched a low of 19,970.05 as the RBI projected a lower economic growth for the current fiscal.

The broad-based National Stock Exchange index Nifty lost 24.90 points, or 0.41 per cent, to 6,049.90, after touching the day's high of 6,111.80.

The Reserve Bank trimmed the economic growth projection for the current fiscal to 5.5 per cent, from 5.8 per cent estimated earlier and said it was necessary to arrest the decline in growth as inflation risks moderate.

The market failed to cheer the RBI's decision to reducing key interest rates by 0.25 per cent and releasing Rs 18,000 crore additional liquidity into the financial system.

On CNN-IBN: The only sympathy that Shah Rukh Khan, as an entertainer, deserves should be decided on the Friday his movie hits theatres.

Who cares whether he practices Islam, Hinduism or Buddhism? He writes well, we give him that. He is articulate and extraordinarily witty, though admittedly whining doesn't suit his arms-stretched-wide image.

Whether Khan is being candid in his confession or not, none can deny his skill at bouncing right back into the arc light.

HarperCollins is launching a new education publishing division in India which will mark its 'largest ever' investment in international education publishing.

Collins India, as the new division will be called, hopes to provide its first range of books to Indian schools in 2014.

Colin Hughes, managing director of Collins Education, said: "This major new initiative is HarperCollins' largest ever investment in international education publishing, aiming to open up new opportunities in the rapidly growing market in Indian schools, where upwards of 90,000 schools teach in English."

Collins said that the business will make use of HC's current materials across subjects including English, maths and science, but will also start to develop local content, aiming first to produce books to match Indias Central Board of Secondary Education Curriculum.

It will also aim to be fully digitally supported from the outset, making partnerships with other platforms.

Seven Congress MPs from the Telangana region of Andhra Pradesh put off their decision on Tuesday to forward their resignation -- both from Lok Sabha and the party -- by a day, as they reportedly could not iron out differences among themselves on the issue.

They, however, told reporters on Tuesday afternoon that they would go ahead with their move and reach New Delhi on Wednesday to submit their resignations to Congress chief Sonia Gandhi.

The MPs said they received a call from Congress leader and Union Minister Vayalar Ravi asking them to come to the national capital to discuss the Telangana issue.

The Jaipur police said they have issued a notice to Nandy asking him to appear before it in connection with his controversial remarks against Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes at the Jaipur Literature Festival.

"We served summons to the organiser but he was busy with the event so he
could not turn up yesterday but has been called for further
investigation," a police officer said.

"Vishwaroopam has been released in 40 theatres across the state, including 17 in Bangalore from the matinee show today. All 17 theatres screening the film are already going housefull," sole distributor of the film in Karnataka, H D Gangaraju told PTI.

He said the state police had assured it would provide security for peaceful screening of the film.

15:27Obama's 2nd term: Change unlikely in Indo-US ties : Looking ahead, what could Barack Obamas second term mean for
relations between India and the United States? Change is unlikely in India-US relations in the next four years, writes Kanwal Sibal in The Telegraph.

A 37-year-old woman, who is a mother of two, was allegedly raped at
gunpoint in a moving car on February 5, 2012. The woman claimed that she
was offered a lift by four men, whom she befriended at a nightclub the
same night.

14:5120 killed in plane crash in Kazakhstan: All 20 people on board a domestic flight of Kazakhstan's SCAT airline died today when their jet crashed on approach to Almaty airport in bad weather, the airline said.

"Twenty people were on board -- five crew members and 15 passengers," the airline said in a statement quoted by the Interfax news agency.

Congress MPs are bearing the brunt of anger at the
Centre's failure to deliver on the promise that it would take a decision
on statehood for Telangana by January 28, yesterday.

On Sunday, a day
before the deadline that Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde had set last
month, senior minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said the government would need
more consultations on the politically and emotionally sensitive
issue.

13:51Constable Tomar's death: HC raps police force: The Delhi high court today warned that it would summon the city's top cop
if the police does not follow protocol. "You want me to summon the police commissioner? I can do that," the judge said today.

He was
unhappy because the police did not file an affidavit while explaining
its stand on whether a CBI investigation should be held on the death of
constable Subhash Tomar, who died from the injuries he received at India
Gate when protests against the gang rape on a bus turned violent.

Castigating
the police, the judge said, "On the last day you did not file a status
report, it seems you are not taking the court seriously."

Days before the date that Ensler, activist and author of The Vagina Monologues,
designated the "day to rise", she tells The Guardian: I've never seen anything like
it in my lifetime. It is something that has gone across class, social group and religion.

One in three women around the world are subject to violence at some
point in their life, a statistic that prompted Ensler, who wrote the
Monologues in 1996, to set up One Billion Rising.

Local protests range from the first ever flashmob in Mogadishu, Somalia, to the town square in Rothesay on the Isle of Bute and encompass Maori women in New Zealand and an estimated 25m protesters in Bangladesh.

11:23India to Pak: We can take care of our citizens : Union Home Secretary R.K Singh on today gave a stern message to Pakistan Interior Minister Rehman Malik, saying that India is quite capable of providing security to its own citizens.

Singh further asked Malik to look after the security of Pakistani citizens and not to worry about Shah Rukh Khan.

"We are capable of looking at the security of our own citizens. Let him (Rehman Malik) worry about his own," Singh told ANI.

The 92-year-old Bollywood legend was admitted to the Lilavati Hospital in suburban Bandra on December 25 and continues to be there.

"He is still in the hospital. He is improving...he is much better now," his son Sunil told PTI.

11:08RBI cuts repo rate by 0.25 pc, loans may cost less: India's long wait for rate cuts ended today with the Reserve Bank of India announcing a 0.25 per cent cut in its key repo rate -- the rate at which it lends to commercial banks - at its monetary policy review, to support an economy set for its slowest growth in a decade, according to NDTV.

The RBI had last cut its repo rate on April 17, 2012, by 50 basis points.

The accused has been recognised as an under-18 and he will be tried separately
from the five other men, who are accused of gang rape and murder.

"Right now it's like we've been given an electric shock; but we can't
allow an electric shock to kill us. It will be a crime to let a man who
committed such a heinous crime go scot free. We will go to court and
appeal. We will do whatever we have to," said the father.

10:00Souvik Pal's body to arrive on Thursday: The body of Souvik Pal, the 19-year-old student found dead in a canal in Old Trafford in Manchester, is expected to arrive in Bangalore by 8 am on Thursday, according to a report in The Hindu.

Family friend Rudra Roy said that Souvik's father Santanu Pal will accompany the coffin.

Souvik, a product design student of Manchester Metropolitan University, went missing from a nightclub on New Year's Eve, triggering a much-publicised search. The body was recovered on January 22.

Two are club owners and the other two members of the band that was performing, it said.

The detainees will be held initially for five days while authorities
investigate Sunday's blaze in the Kiss nightclub in Santa Maria,
according to Marcos Viana, a police official who spoke with state-run
Agencia Brasil. The five-day period can be extended for five more days,
the news agency said.

After the Election Commission and the Press Council of India shot off
notices to them and held inquiries many politcians have
acknowledged guilt by belatedly adding their news buying expenses to
their election statement of accounts.

But not a single newspaper they say they gave their money to has accepted any wrongdoing.

08:25Madras HC's ruling on' Vishwaroopam' likely today: The Madras high court is expected to pass an order today on whether the
ban on actor-director Kamal Haasan's film 'Vishwaroopam' should be lifted.
A judge who watched the film on the weekend had advised Haasan,
who has also produced the film, to settle amicably with the government, reports NDTV.

Yesterday,
reports emerged that Haasan has been asked to edit his
mega-budget thriller by nearly an hour to ensure it releases in
theatres. However, sources say the actor is unlikely to agree.

02:33UK says 'potential threat' to Tripoli embassy: Britain said today it had identified a 'potential threat' to its embassy in the Libyan capital Tripoli, days after warning of a threat to Westerners in the eastern city of Benghazi.

"We're aware of a potential threat to the British embassy in Tripoli and we are liaising closely with the Libyan government," a Foreign Office spokeswoman said. The Foreign Office, which already warns against 'all but essential travel' to the Libyan capital, said its travel advice remained unchanged.

01:54Murdoch apologizes for Sunday Times cartoon: Media baron Rupert Murdoch has apologized for a Sunday Times cartoon depicting Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu building a wall using blood-red mortar, an image Jewish leaders said was reminiscent of anti-Semitic propaganda.

The political cartoon, which was published on Holocaust Memorial Day, shows Netanyahu wielding a long, sharp trowel and depicts agonized Palestinians bricked into the wall's structure. It was meant as a comment on recent elections in which Netanyahu's ticket narrowly won the most seats in the Israeli parliamentary.

01:26US senators unveil immigration reform deal: A bipartisan group of influential US Senators today agreed to a framework of sweeping reform of immigration laws to attract the 'world's best and brightest' and include a tough and fair path to citizenship for the 11 million illegal immigrants in the country.

The White House welcomed the agreement reached on immigration reform by the bi-partisan group of eight influential Senators.

"The president welcomes the efforts by the bipartisan group in the Senate to put forward principles on the need for comprehensive immigration reform, principles that mirror the President's blueprint, which he has been pressing for some time," White House Press Secretary Jay Carney told reporters.

"The president believes that it's very important that we move forward on comprehensive immigration reform. It's the right thing to do for the country, for our economy," Carney said.

"It is with the greatest of confidence, that I will hand over the throne on April 30 to my son, Willem Alexander, Prince of Orange," Beatrix told national television, using the official title of the heir apparent.

The queen, who is to turn 75 on Thursday, said her birthday and the 200-year anniversary of the monarchy in 2013 'were the reason for me to step down'.

"I'm standing down because public service is too heavy for me, because of the belief that responsibility for our country should be in the hands of a new generation," she said.